The Pennsylvania Department of Education announced that organizations may submit their intent to apply for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant program. Under the program, $20 million in grant funding will be available to establish and/or support community learning centers that provide academic, artistic, and cultural enrichment opportunities for students and their families.
“Learning is a lifelong endeavor that continues even after the school bell rings, and it is incumbent upon communities to provide additional opportunities for learning outside of the traditional classroom setting,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Noe Ortega. “These grants will help bolster classroom efforts, engage learners and their families, and encourage the pursuit of learning for students across the commonwealth.”
The 21st CCLC program provides opportunities for communities to establish or to expand activities in community learning centers that:
– Provide opportunities for academic enrichment, including tutorial services to help students, particularly students who attend low-performing schools, to meet state academic standards
– Offer students a broad array of additional services, programs and activities, such as youth development activities, tutoring, service learning, nutrition and health education, drug and violence prevention programs, counseling programs, arts, music, physical fitness and wellness programs, technology education programs, financial literacy programs, environmental literacy programs, mathematics, science, career and technical programs, internship or apprenticeship programs, and other ties to an in-demand industry sector or occupation for high school students that are designed to reinforce and complement the regular academic program of participating students
– Offer families opportunities for active and meaningful engagement in their children’s education, including opportunities for literacy and related educational development
These opportunities must occur during non-school hours or periods when school is not in session to help students attending high-poverty and low-performing schools to meet state and local standards in core academic subjects. Centers must also offer students a broad array of activities that can complement their regular academic programs and literacy and other educational services to their families.
To apply, interested applicants should email a letter of intent to N. Craig Scott at [email protected] by Feb. 10. The eGrants application will open from Feb. 15 to March 25. Applicants may request funds ranging from a minimum of $50,000 to a maximum of up to $500,000.
Guidelines can be found here.
Any public or private organization that meets the eligibility requirements can apply for 21st CCLC funding. This includes public school districts, charter schools, private schools, nonprofit agencies, city or county government agencies, faith-based organizations, institutions of higher education, Indian tribes or tribal organizations, and for-profit corporations.
Applicants must target students in the lowest 5 to 10 percent of Title I schools or those listed as focus and priority schools. To be eligible for this grant, at least 85 percent of the students an applicant is proposing to serve must attend schools that are Title 1, TSI, ATSI or CSI.
